


What Makes Her Happy

by verucasalt123



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Domestic, Fluff and Angst, Future Fic, Kid Fic, M/M, Parenthood, Scenting, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-16
Updated: 2013-10-16
Packaged: 2017-12-29 14:02:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1006286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verucasalt123/pseuds/verucasalt123
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles just wanted to figure out why his daughter didn’t seem to like him much.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Makes Her Happy

Stiles was frustrated to the point of tears, and irrationally a little angry. Sure, the baby wasn’t even three weeks old yet, but she still hadn’t seemed to warm up to him at all. No matter what he did, she wouldn’t settle down when he was alone with her; when she wasn’t full-on screaming she was whimpering and squirming in his arms. 

He didn’t know what to do. This was their first baby, totally unexpected and he loved her from the moment he found out she existed even though he was terrified and clueless. Derek had been so supportive, telling him everything he could remember about the infants that had been part of his pack when he was growing up, trying to make him feel more confident. He was as excited and enthusiastic as Stiles was about becoming a father. 

Both of them loving their sweet Lucy Rose so much didn’t seem to make a bit of difference to the baby, though. When she was tired or hungry or just wanted attention, Derek was the only one who could get her completely calm. Hell, she even responded better to Isaac or Scott holding her than she did to Stiles. 

Being pissy about it was stupid, Stiles knew, it’s not like a newborn baby had any choice in the matter. She wasn’t consciously rejecting her daddy. She was a werewolf, so it was probably just instinct – their scent or whatever making her feel more comfortable than when she was in the arms of a human. But as the weeks passed and Lucy didn’t show any signs of recognizing Stiles’ parental devotion, he started getting scared. 

What if this was just how it would always be?

What if she never loved him back?

What if he was always just that other guy in the house to her?

It didn’t help much when Derek got home from work and Lucy immediately settled into his arms, laying her head on his chest and instantly falling to sleep. Well, it didn’t help Stiles, anyway. He knew he ought to just be grateful that the baby felt safe and comfortable, but _damn it_ , why couldn’t she feel that way when he was holding her?

Stiles walked out of the room and headed straight for the kitchen, cracking open a beer and taking a long swig before Derek caught up with him after putting the baby down in her bassinet. There was no point in hiding it, Derek would know what he was feeling anyway, so Stiles let himself cry. 

Derek got up close to him, took the bottle of beer and set it on the counter, and put his arms around Stiles. He tried to wiggle away at first, but it was useless. After a few minutes of soaking Derek’s shirt with tears and snot, he just asked, in a pitiful voice, “Derek, why? What am I doing wrong?”

Of course, Derek’s response to Stiles’ emotional outburst was to run his fingers through his hair, shushing him and saying, “Nothing, babe. I remembered something else, from when I was a kid. There were humans in our pack, too, you know. I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before, but I think I know something that will help.”

“Let me guess, I just shouldn’t touch her anymore? It obviously upsets her.”

With a sigh, Derek replied, “Just the opposite. You know it’s easy for her to pick up on the scents of other weres, I think she’s just not getting enough of your scent. I want to try something, okay? When she wakes up. Please don’t feel like you’re doing something wrong. You love her so much, you’re her daddy and we’re going to figure this out, I promise you.”

Stiles couldn’t come up with a response; he was exhausted and just let Derek lead him into the living room and hold him on the sofa, kiss away his tears and try again to reassure him.

When Lucy started to stir, Derek took Stiles’ hand and led him to the bedroom. “Take off your shirt.”

“The baby’s awake now, we missed our chance for getting naked”, Stiles responded jokingly. 

Derek rolled his eyes and picked the baby up out of her bassinet. “Just your shirt”, he said, as he started stripping off Lucy’s button-up pajamas and onesie. When she was down to just her diaper, Derek held her out to Stiles, who still looked reluctant. “It’s the direct contact, I think – skin to skin. That’s what I remembered before about some of the human members of my old pack. It might take a little while, but I really do believe this is what she needs. Being physically closer to you, just her skin against yours with nothing in between, it’ll strengthen the bond between the two of you. Trust me on this, please. Just try.”

Hesitatingly, Stiles took Lucy and held her directly against his chest, kissing the top of her head. She squirmed at first, and Stiles gave Derek a defeated look, but then she actually snuggled in closer, letting out a contended exhale against her daddy’s skin before falling right back to sleep. 

Feeling lighter and happier than he had in weeks, Stiles leaned over and kissed Derek softly. “I can’t believe it”, he said, in awe of the fact that his daughter finally looked happy in his arms. 

When Derek asked if Stiles wanted to lay her back down, Stiles looked at him like he was insane. He was willing to hold her for the whole damn day now that she was finally letting him. Derek smiled and said, “See? Everything’s gonna be just fine, babe. She’s ours, and she’s perfect, and you’re giving her exactly what she needs.”

Stiles didn’t think he’d ever had a happier moment in his life, but he hoped there would be many, many more to come.


End file.
